Where the Heart Is
by Fuujin Kishukaze
Summary: An AU story set before the start of the series. What happens when fantasy and I-Man clash paths?


Author's Note: Ok... before I get down to my usual ramble about how you should review my fic, let me make a couple of things about this fic crystal clear. First of all, this is an AU fic, set as a prologue to the first story in the PBeM RPG, Black Magic. Now, this alternate universe is a sort of 'what if I-Man was set in a fantasy middle ages setting'... so while the characters personalities and names are the same, they have been altered slightly. For example, in this fic, Arnaud is an Elf... and the Official is knows as the King's Official and also happens to be a Dwarf.   
  
Second of all, the RPG this story was written for starts at the beginning of the series... so Kevin hasn't died yet, Darien hasn't had the gland put in his head yet, and Arnaud's still pretending to be a good guy. Third, this fic was written completely by me. Where most RPGs have episodes written by a collection of writers each playing a different character... this 'episode' focuses on the two characters I play, and the one NPC (non-player character) I control. So if I do decide that I'll post the coming 'episodes' of the game, I'll give the other writers credit... but since this is just me, it'd be kinda stupid to give myself credit.   
  
And finally, this fic sucks. I'm only posting it because I haven't written anything decent in awhile... and I figured I needed to do something. So woo! Read, review damn it - no one ever reviews my stuff - and enjoy. And remember, the more reviews I get, the more likely I am to post the next episode of Black Magic when we've finished it. ^_-   
  
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"Hear ye! Hear ye! Read all about it!" a shrill voice demanded.  
  
Lord Kevin Fawkes, Potions Master for the King of the tiny island of Avalon ignored the young paperseller's cries and continued to push through the main area of the city, a look of concentration on his face. The last few weeks of his life had been both heaven and hell, and in a few brief moments it would all be over... well, assuming he could get through the early morning traffic. His thoughts briefly leaving the work that had all but consumed his life in the last eighteen months, the dark-haired man pushed through a crown of people and then let his mind fade back into his work.  
  
So what had he been working on? Three words. The Quicksilver Potion. In theory, when drunk, it would all the drinker to turn invisible at will for a period of three hours. It was a miracle... science and magic combined into one. And not only that, it was perfect according to the tests he and his partner had done on rats. Now all he had to do was present the potion to the his superiors and allow them to do good things for the kingdom with it. Like catch the unstoppable cat burglar that had been pillaging the higher ups' houses for a solid month now.  
"Cat burglar caught!" the paperseller cried above the morning hustle and bustle.   
  
And those two words made the elder Fawkes boy's heart sink in his chest. The cat burglar had been caught? Surely it hadn't been the one that would be stopped thanks to his invention? A frown poisoned his expression. Maybe he'd buy the paper that morning just to make sure.  
  
Stepping over to the stand that sold the news, Kevin reached into the belt pouch at his side and withdrew two silver pieces. Then, placing them gently on the splintered wood of the stand, he asked for a paper. The man on the other side of the stand looked at the twin coins with suspicion for a moment and then handed the dark-haired man a paper. Taking it in his hands, he stared at the front page and a single phrase came to mind.  
  
"Aw crap."   
  
There, on the front page was not one blow, but two. The first was the fact that the cat burglar that had been breaking into the nobles' homes had indeed been caught. And the second? His brother's portrait was neatly drawn on the front page behind a set of black charcoal bars.  
  
*  
  
"Kevin?"  
  
Two dark eyes looked up and regarded the elven man who had called his name glumly. Making a non-committal noise in the back of his throat, Kevin tore his eyes away from the dull green of Arnaud tunic and returned to the vial of Quicksilver Potion he had been staring at. How could Darien do this to him? How could his younger brother ruin two lives in one day? Not only would the potion that he had spent the last year and a half working on be useless now... but Darien had been sentenced to hang for his crimes. Kevin shook his head ever so slightly. No, only one life destroyed here today. And it wasn't his. He could recover from a failed project, but he doubted his brother could recover from a noose around the neck.  
  
"Kevin?" Arnaud asked again, this time slightly louder. "What's wrong?"  
  
The Potions Master's hand fell instinctively on the page with his brother's face sketched on it half trying to cover it up, half trying to pull it closer to him for some kind of odd comfort. For a moment there was silence as his eyes drifted slowly to his brother's portrait, and then he spoke. Or at least attempted to, but when he tried Kevin's throat protested by tightening up on him. So all the dark-haired man could managed was a pitiful choked noise, and at this his companion arched a delicate eyebrow.   
  
"Please. What is it?" Arnaud asked softly, taking tentative steps from his place near the door to move closer to Kevin. Inwardly, the elven scientist frowned knowing that Kevin's silence couldn't be good - it never was when it came to the Potions Master's feelings, considering he usually wore them on his sleeve. Though, outwardly, Arnaud's expression was a mask of calm elven resolve.  
  
"My brother," Kevin managed finally, picking up the paper and thrusting it in the shorter man's direction.  
  
Arnaud's brow furrowed as he reached for the crudely done paper. And as his emerald eyes scanned it, the elven man almost immediately found the source of Kevin's distress. Apparently his brother, Darien, had been unmasked as the burglar they had invented the QS potion to try and catch in the first place. "I see," the alien-looking man replied finally. "I'm sorry."  
  
"What am I going to do?" Kevin responded as though he hadn't heard what Arnaud had said. "I can't just leave him there... but even my influence as the King's Potions Master isn't going to get Dare..." he trailed off at his use of his pet name for his brother, the full weight of the situation hitting him a second time. "...Isn't going to get Darien out of this one."  
  
There was silence between the two men for a moment and then Arnaud suggested. "Why don't you administer the Quicksilver potion to me? That way I could walk in to the prison invisible and bust him out?"  
  
"No. The King would find out we had done it somehow... and I would get dismissed. Besides, if I want Darien out of the hangman's noose permanently, I'm going to have to find a legal way of doing it. Otherwise, he'll be on the run for the rest of his life... and I can't do that to him."  
  
A faint frown touched Arnaud's lips, but if Kevin noticed it, he brushed it off as the youthful-looking elf thinking about the matter further. In all reality, however, Arnaud was slightly put out that he was foiled once again in convincing the King's Potion Master to give the Quicksilver potion to him. And quite frankly, Arnaud was getting tired of being denied subtle attempt after subtle attempt. Sooner than later he was just going to take the potion for himself... or do something horrible to whomever Kevin did decide to give the vial of silvery liquid to. And he had quite a few ideas for the latter.  
  
"Then what choice do we have?"  
  
"Maybe," he began before stopping again as he considered the situation. "Maybe I could convince the King and Lord Borden to let me test the potion on Darien. I mean, that way, there'd be a legal way to save his life... and he might have a chance to turn his life around. You know? His freedom for serving the crown for once." Meeting Arnaud's eyes with his own black-brown orbs, Kevin did nothing to conceal the hope in their depths.  
  
"Are you sure that's safe?" Arnaud asked, the ghost of a frown becoming a full out scowl. "We haven't done any human testing... For all you know, the potion would kill Darien."  
  
"What choice do I have, Arnaud?"  
  
"None, I suppose."  
  
"Then I'm going to go see Lord Borden."  
  
*  
  
"Absolutely not."  
  
Kevin sighed in exasperation, as he slammed his hands down on the King's Official's desk. "Why not?" he asked, trying to keep the frustration that was building up inside of him out of his voice. "We -need- a test subject."  
  
"Listen kid," he began, pushing the quill and parchment he had been scribbling away on aside so he could focus his attention solely on the elder Fawkes brother. "You said it yourself - your brother's a thief. If you gave him the potion, who's to say that he wouldn't run off with his newfound ability to turn invisible? Imagine all the damage he could do."  
  
"He won't. I know Darien too well. He may be a thief, but he doesn't con people he cares about. And besides, even if he wanted to, he couldn't get past me, Arnaud, and all the guards." Leaning a little close to the overweight man, Kevin gazed over the tops of his glasses, hopefully.  
  
The Official made a noise of discontentment in the back of his throat. "There's still the slim chance that he might, and that's not a risk I'm willing to take. Your brother hangs at dawn tomorrow... and if it's any conciliation, I'm sorry."  
  
Shaking his head, the dark-haired male let out a sigh and pushed himself away from the desk to move in the direction of the door. This was hopeless. The King's Official hadn't been as accepting of his proposal as he had hoped, and it seemed that what Arnaud had suggested earlier was rapidly becoming the only option. Still, Kevin still wasn't too keen on the idea. He wanted his brother out of the frying pan permanently... not just while both him and Darien took a head-dive into the fire. But it didn't look like that was going to happen... he had exhausted all of his options. His hand falling on the door, Kevin let out another frustrated sigh. There had to be something he could do. There -had- to. And that's when it hit him. It was a gamble for both him and his brother... but if he could pull it off, it would be worth it... and if it didn't, at least he could say he tried.   
  
Turning suddenly, he stared at the Official, who had gone back to his work, for a moment. Then, taking a deep breath in hopes that it would slow down his heart, which threatened to explode, he spoke. "I'll quit."  
  
"Excuse me?" the King's Official demanded, once more looking up from his pen and parchment.  
  
Another lungful of air flooded Kevin's body, and another, as he fought back the urge to simply give up and walk away. "You heard me. If you're just going to let Darien die, then I'll quit."  
  
"You can't do that."  
  
"This is my -brother- we're talking about - I can do whatever I damn well please."   
  
At this the overweight man on the other side of the desk frowned and as he did, Kevin was convinced that he had failed. Not only was his brother's life dust in the wind now, but so was his job. But instead the Official responded with, "Fine, Lord Fawkes, I'll order for your brother's release if he participates. But one slip up, and both your necks will be in nooses. Is that clear?"  
  
"Crystal," the dark-haired male responded, letting out a breath of relief as his nerves calmed themselves.  
  
"Good. I'll have the paperwork ready in an hour. Now get out of my office."  
  
The King's Potion Master nodded, his hand already on the doorknob. "See you in an hour." And with that he opened the door and exited the small office, his mind already fixed on how he was going to convince his brother to not say white when he said black for once. Though despite the fact that his brother might not agree right away, Kevin still had something he hadn't before.  
  
He had hope. 


End file.
